Darlington Hoopes (September 11, 1896 – September 25, 1989) was an American politician and lawyer who served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a member of the Socialist Party of America. He served as chairman of the Socialist Party of America from 1946 to 1968. Hoopes was born in

LaVale, Maryland LaVale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,551 at the 2010 census. Geography LaVale is located at , in the shad ...

, and educated at the

George School George School is a private Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania ( Newtown postal address). It was founded at its present site in 1893, and has grow ...

and the University of Wisconsin School of Agriculture. He ran for multiple offices with the Socialist nomination and served in multiple position within the Socialist Party; with him later becoming chairman of the party. He served as the Socialist Party's vice-presidential nominee during the 1944 presidential election and as the party's presidential nominee during the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

presidential elections. Hoopes conducted the last presidential campaigns of the Socialist Party of America. He briefly joined the Social Democratic Federation in the 1930s before returning to the Socialist Party and later joined the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...

after the dissolution of the Socialist Party.

Early life

Darlington Hoopes was born on September 11, 1896, in

, to Quaker parents. He graduated from the

in 1913, and attended the University of Wisconsin School of Agriculture. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1921. He married Hazelette Miller, with whom he had three children.

Career

Early and party politics

Hoopes ran to be the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Berks County, Pennsylvania, with the Socialist nomination in 1927, 1929, and 1957. From 1928 to 1932, he served as Assistant City Solicitor of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and then as City Solicitor of Reading from 1936 to 1940. He served as the Socialist nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania during the 1946 elections. Hoopes became a member of the Socialist Party of America in 1914. During the 1920s he served as secretary of the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania. Hoopes served as a member of the national Socialist executive committee during the 1930s. Hoopes was selected to serve as the chairman of the Socialist Party of America's 1934 national convention by a vote of 69 to 61 against George E. Roewer. He served as chairman of the Socialist Party of America from 1946 to 1968. Hoopes joined the

in 1973. In 1936, the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania severed its connection with the Socialist Party of America over ideological and tactical differences."SDF Calls Convention at Pittsburgh, May 20," ''The New Leader'' ew York vol. 20, no. 7 (Feb. 13, 1937), pp. 1-2. Hoopes remained with the state organization outside of any national organization. On February 7, 1937 the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania called an "Eastern States Conference of Social Democratic Organizations" in Philadelphia which moved forward towards establishing a new organization, the Social Democratic Federation. Hoopes was named to the 7 member committee which issued a call for a National Convention in Pittsburgh, to be held May 29–31, 1937.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Hoopes won election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1930, with the Socialist nomination alongside fellow Socialist Lilith M. Wilson. Hoopes and Wilson were the first third party delegation to serve in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 1917. During the 1930 campaign Hoopes had been arrested for attempting to conduct a political meeting without a permit, but the charges against him were later dropped. He was reelected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1932 and 1934. Hoopes ran for reelection in 1936, but lost in the general election. Hoopes sought election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1938, but lost.

Presidential and vice-presidential campaigns

On June 4, 1944, Hoopes was selected unanimously as the vice-presidential running mate to

Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. Early years Thomas was the ...

, who was seeking the presidency for the fifth time. The Thomas and Hoopes presidential ticket placed fourth in the general election and received 79,019 votes. During the 1948 presidential election Hoopes was endorsed for the vice-presidency by the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania. However, Tucker P. Smith won the party's vice-presidential nomination at the national convention. On May 5, 1952, the

Socialist Party of Massachusetts The Socialist Party of Massachusetts (SPMA) is a democratic socialist political party in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Since the 1970s, it has been the state chapter of the Socialist Party USA (SPUSA), after previously having been affiliated w ...

endorsed Hoopes for the Socialist Party of America's presidential nomination and Robin Myers for the vice-presidential nomination. Hoopes won the party's presidential nomination on a unanimous vote after his two opponents dropped out and

Samuel H. Friedman Samuel Herman Friedman (February 20, 1897 – March 17, 1990) was an American journalist and a longtime labor union activist. He twice ran unsuccessfully for Vice President of the United States on the Socialist Party of America ticket. Friedman was ...

was selected unanimously as his vice-presidential running mate. Hoopes was chosen as the party's presidential nominee after Thomas announced that he would not seek the party's presidential nomination again. During the campaign Hoopes spent $150 and in the general election he placed sixth after receiving 20,203 votes. He was the last member of the Socialist Party to appear on the ballot in Maine until a candidate of the Socialist Party USA appeared on the ballot for a seat in the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constituti ...

in the 2018 election. Hoopes and Friedman were selected as the party's presidential and vice-presidential nominees during the 1956 presidential election. However, the sixty delegates to the Socialist Party of America's national convention chose not to spend large amounts of money or effort on campaigning for president and would instead seek write-in votes for Hoopes and Friedman. In the general election he placed tenth after receiving 2,128 votes. Hoopes' 1956 presidential campaign was the last conducted by the Socialist Party of America before its dissolution in the 1970s.

Later life

From 1957 to 1962, Hoopes served as president of the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Council. He also served as president of the Berks County Bar Association from 1961 to 1962. On September 25, 1989, Hoopes died in a nursing home in

Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania Sinking Spring is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,008 at the 2010 census. Sinking Spring was given its name for a spring located in the center of town. The water in this spring would sink into the gro ...

of natural causes.

References

External links

Darlington Hoopes on Social Justice
(on

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoopes, Darlington 1896 births 1989 deaths American Christian socialists American people of English descent People from Berks County, Pennsylvania People from Harford County, Maryland Quaker socialists Socialist Party of America presidential nominees Socialist Party USA politicians Socialist Party of America politicians from Maryland Candidates in the 1952 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1956 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians 1944 United States vice-presidential candidates Socialist Party of America politicians from Pennsylvania Members of the Social Democratic Federation (United States) George School alumni Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives